RockinFX;635505 Wrote:
>
> All I really want is 2.1 channel audio through an existing AVR which
> has both wired and wireless capability by streaming FLAC audio files
> and internet radio from and/or controlled by my laptop to a single
> room.
>
> I have been through the FAQs and forum posts and I am still somewhat
> lost. I don't need or want anything with a speaker and I really think
> Squeezebox does way more than I need it to do, but ... I had to ask. Is
> there a Squeezebox solution for this config (or do I need a NAS or some
> other "appliance")??
>
It depends.
If your music is on your laptop and you only plan to listen to music
when your laptop is powered on, then you don't need a NAS or other
server hardware, you just have to install Squeezebox Server on your
laptop.
If you want to be able to play music without the laptop powered on, you
will need some kind of server. I'll always recommend a normal computer
or old laptop put away somewhere, because that usually gives a lot
better performance than NAS boxes which aren't designed to run the
Squeezebox Server software.
Theoretically, you can connect an external USB drive with music
directly to a Squeezebox Touch but in practice this often cause a lot
of problems because the Touch hardware is too limited to get good
performance.
If you are only interested in playing online streams and not locally
stored music files, you don't need a server at all, in this case you
can use Logitech central Squeezebox Server on mysqueezebox.com.
Regarding the actual Squeezebox devices, you have a number of choices:
- Get a used Squeezebox Classic on eBay or similar site
- Get a new Squeezebox Touch
- Get a new Squeezebox Duet
I would personally not recommend the Duet if you have a iPhone/iPad or
Android device, because then you aren't going to need the graphical
control provided in the Duet package as the iPhone/iPad/Android
solutions are better.
The choice between Classic and Touch is based on:
- Do you want a new device (Touch) or are you satisfied with an old
used device (Classic).
- Do you want top audio quality (Touch) or are you satisfied with very
good audio quality (Classic). Unless you have a high-end hifi system
you probably don't hear much difference between them.
- Do you want a central LCD color screen where you can see album covers
and what's playing (Touch) or do you prefer a monochrome VFD display
with better long range visibility (Classic)
At least in theory the Touch might probably be maintained/supported a
bit longer, in practice Logitech still supports SlimMp3 which was
release 2001 so it probably doesn't make much difference.
My personal feeling is that the Squeezebox Classic has a bit less
problems but the Squeezebox Touch is overall a better device. My old
Classic has been replaced with a Touch and I'll never go back, the
Classic now only works a clock.
Finally, even though this is the Squeezebox forums, it's a good idea to
mention that if you don't require high-end audio quality and you are
going to control the music from the laptop, there are cheaper solutions
on the market than Logitech's Squeezebox products. Squeezeboxes are
mainly designed to be controlled from a remote control (IR, Android,
iPhone/iPad) and this together with the audio quality and multi-room
support is where they show their biggest advantages compared to the
competition.
--
erland
Erland Isaksson ('My homepage' (http://erland.isaksson.info))
(Developer of 'many plugins/applets'
(http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/User:Erland). If my answer
helped you and you like to encourage future presence on this forum
and/or third party plugin/applet development, 'donations are always
appreciated' (http://erland.isaksson.info/donate))
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